With his debut in 2010, Bruno Mars has been one of the biggest and most consistent music icons and hit-makers in the last decade. With genres stretching from 70s funk to modern pop, this artist dropped his long-awaited 4th studio album, The Romantic, on February 27th, with tours scheduled from April to October across North America and Europe.
After the massive success of 24K Magic, he shifted directions with Anderson .Paak for An Evening with Silk Sonic, featuring the chart dominating single “Leave the Door Open” in 2020. The project doubled down on vintage 70s soul and the experience of a live band, a masterpiece that reshaped expectations for pop. Recently however, Mars has stepped back from the solo spotlight and only appeared on select features, such as Lady Gaga (“Die with a Smile”).
For this new era, fans predict romance ballads with a 1970s funk touch. His lead single and third track from the new album, “I Just Might,” reached number 1 in 11 countries, and carries remnants of Silk Sonic in it’s catchy chorus, perky bassline and classic disco feel. The album cover is a Latin style portrait of Bruno, a style that carries into the first two songs on the album – “Risk It All” and “Cha Cha Cha”. The beginning of the album carries remnants of the Chicano Rock movement, the rising 1950s to 60s blend of R&B and Latin influences, bringing in some of Mars’s Puerto Rican background.
“I thought the Latin Influence was very strong, especially on tracks like ‘On My Soul’ and ‘Cha Cha Cha’, ’” said junior Viraat Chakravartula. “It really spoke to a genre that Mars hasn’t really tapped into in his music.”
The rest of the album immediately snaps you back to Bruno’s most comfortable groove, the bridge between pop and soul. “On my Soul” and “Something Serious” have smooth 80s sounds with licks of electric guitar and excellent layered vocals.
For fans of “When I Was Your Man”, Mars closes the album with two slow love ballads, “Nothing Left” and “Dancing With Me,” which were very reminiscent of the classic soulful, melancholic, and vulnerable performance seen in some of Mars’s most popular songs. “Dancing With Me” is a personal favorite off the album, a very slow dance, EdSheeran-kind of Bruno that many fans having been waiting to circle back around.
This nine-track album has the fingerprints of American record producer D’Mile, known for his work on Rihanna’s 2005 album, Music of the Sun, and his work on Silk Sonic. Paired with Philip Lawerence who worked with Mars back on his 2010 album Doo-Wops & Hooligans (which featured huge hits like “Grenade,”) their influence is seen in the arrangement of the instruments, never overcrowding the singer’s voice. Websites such as Variety and Shatter The Standards describes the whole album as a blend of vintage soul with very strong Chicano elements at its core.
The Romantic features one man singing about love in various styles, a record that was build very intentionally, filled with homages to the different decades he has so carefully explored across his career. Leaving fans with another great album, Bruno Mars reminds us why he’s in the spotlight of music’s finest.
